The 2015 Landlord legal cruise was held November 29th – December 6th this year. 77 participants attended the event which provided landlord legal training and networking while on a cruise ship in the Eastern Caribbean.

“I thought the training and the whole event was so valuable,” Said DJ Bruhn with Utah Property Management Associates. “We really had a good time.”

The Utah Apartment Association was the main sponsor and both property managers and realtors attended and earned continuing education credits for their real estate license. Classes included landlord tenant law training by attorney Kirk A. Cullimore. For many participants the 12 hours of training were a refresher while for others it was brand new stuff they hadn’t previously experienced.

The Washington legislature and the courts made significant changes to laws affecting landlords in 2015. This article will briefly review three such changes: the landlord’s responsibilities when a tenant dies, tightening up of security deposit accounting, and the landlord’s duty to keep rental property up to code.

Historic Lending Discrimination Settlement Addresses Allegations Of Modern Day Redlining

By Jo Becker, Education/Outreach Specialist Fair Housing Council of Oregon

Earlier this year the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an agreement with Associated Bank to resolve a disparate treatment redlining case. Redlining is the practice of refusing to lend or insure homes in areas deemed to be a poor financial risk due to the ethnic demographics of the areas.

What To Do When You Need A LawyerNavigating The Best Route To Legal Advice

These days, a sharp pain in the knee or a persistent cough sends many people not to the doctor’s office, but to the Internet, looking for a potential diagnosis and cure.

Something similar happens with people in need of legal advice, says Jasen McDaniel, executive director of the Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward law firm (www.jdsalaw.com), which has been in existence in Wenatchee, Wash., for nearly seven decades.

“It’s much easier to type in some search terms and hope you get some usable legal information, cheap or free, without having to visit an attorney,” McDaniel says.

But, just as with health issues, that’s not the wisest move, he says. Google is no replacement for a legal education and years of practical experience, and information via a website may “provide a false sense of security,” he says.

A working knowledge about fair housing regulations is an absolute essential for property managers or anyone practicing in the real estate housing profession today.

The HUD website describes fairness in housing as a goal to eliminate housing discrimination and create equal opportunity in every community. Fundamentally, fair housing means that every person can live free. This means that our communities are open and welcoming, free from housing discrimination and hostility. It also means that each of us, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability, has access to neighborhoods of opportunity, where our children can attend quality schools, our environment allows us to be healthy, and economic opportunities and self sufficiency can grow.

THE LANDIS BOMB Part 1 of 2 In October of 2012 Washington State landlords were, in this attorney’s humble opinion, kicked in the teeth by the Division 1 Washington Court of Appeals. This very unwelcome dental work came in the form of the Landis case. For those interested, that is Landis & Landis Construction, LLC, an Oregon limited liability company vs Nicola Nation d/b/a Nation Management, 286 P.3d 979 (Wash.App Div. 1 2012). While this case is new enough that its impact has not yet been fleshed out in subsequent courts, it seems likely that this case will accomplish four unfortunate things from the landlord perspective and one from the tenants view. First, this case seems likely to mean that a tenant can both unilaterally cancel a rental contract without any notice to the landlord based on habitability claims.